People are generally aware of the most common causes of hallucinations, like schizophrenia and a really high fever. But lesser known are the more rare causes; here are six you probably haven't heard about.

Are you an insomniac who tosses and turns for hours before finally snatching a couple hours of shut eye, only to wake up at 6 a.m. and lie awake until your alarm goes off? Or do you have a tendency to over-sleep and be late to work? Whatever your sleep problem may be, counting sheep is somewhat of an obsolete method in catching those Z’s. Plenty of phone apps have been developed to assist in lulling you to rest — and though they may not be clinical ways to cure your insomnia, they can certainly be a comfortable little way to ease you to relaxation at night.

Sleep and rest are an integral part of our health and day-to-day lives. The amount of sleep we get can significantly impact our mood, appetite, energy levels and productivity at work. Not getting enough sleep can make us cranky and also make us eat more. Below, read about a few sleep apps that can help you get the sleep you need.

1. SleepCycle

SleepCycle is one of the most popular iPhone apps that helps regulate your sleep. It’s an alarm clock that essentially knows when to wake you up based on which sleep cycle you’re in, making your morning wake-up routine less disturbing than usual. “As you sleep you go through different phases, ranging from deep sleep to light sleep,” the SleepCycle page on the Apple website says. “The phase you are in when your alarm goes off is critical for how tired you will feel when you wake up.”

SleepCycle uses the accelerometer in your iPhone to monitor movement, which can determine which sleep phase you’re in, as you move around in bed differently during each phase. The app will wake you in your lightest sleep phase, which is a much more pleasant experience than being woken from deep sleep.

2. Pzizz

One of the perks of Pzizz is the fact that it has billions of different sounds and music combinations that can help you fall asleep at night. It mixes various sound effects, quotes, and tones into new little playlists whenever you press start, giving you something unique to listen to every time. Pzizz costs about $5.99 for iOS and $9.99 for Android.

3. Sleep As Android

If you don’t have an iPhone but you want an app similar to SleepCycle, check out Sleep As Android, which is targeted for those with an Android. Sleep As Android gives you a free two-week trial and comes equipped with sleep graph history — which can record your sleep movement and phases every night. It provides you with any sleep deficit, deep sleep, or even snoring statistics, according to its app page.

4. Sleep Pillow

When you’re used to living in the city, going home to the suburbs or the woods can be quite a shock: At night, you don’t hear anything but your own thoughts. If silence drives you crazy, and you need background noise for comfort, Sleep Pillow might be the app for you. It’s a white noise app that’s available for iOS at $1.99. If you want to listen to calming background sounds like wooden wind chimes as you’re lying in bed, it could very well help you transcend your current surroundings and pretend you’re in a different place. That could be somewhere in nature that involves the gentle sound of a trickling stream; it could also involve the repetitive hum of machines like dryers or fans (which can help lull you to sleep as well).

5. Yoga for Insomnia

Yoga for Insomnia is exactly what it sounds like: The app offers several different yoga poses and breathing exercises that can relax you before you try to fall asleep. Stretching and focusing on deep breathing before bed can help release some of the tension that has built up during the day. Yoga for Insomnia offers beginner lessons all the way up to advanced sessions for yogis.

6. Sleepmaker Rain Free

Gentle drops down gutters. Gentle onto canvas. Gentle against windows with wind. Gentle with distant thunder. OK, the names of some of these app noises available are a little weird — but admittedly, the sound of rain is pretty calming and peaceful. Sleepmaker Rain Free offers real rain recordings, not sound effects, that are designed to help even children and infants fall asleep.